Police have shot dead a man who was threatening a woman with a knife at a house
in London.

The incident happened at a property in Islington and it is understood the man and the woman knew each other.

The Metropolitan Police said the woman was unharmed and is being treated for shock.

The 40-year-old man was treated at the scene in Shepperton Road but died on the way to hospital.

Police cordoned off the road in Islington after the shooting

The IPCC is investigating the shooting and said a post-mortem examination would take place on Monday.

Police had sent a negotiator to the scene at 11.19pm on Thursday following reports the man had broken into a house.

Rosa Whiteread, 28, a primary school teacher who lives in the street, said: "I was asleep and I heard shouting - it woke me up. It must have been around 12.30 at night.

"I looked out of the window and I saw lots of police, there must have been around a dozen of them. I asked them what was going on, but they said they couldn't tell me.

Forensice officers later attended the scene

"I'm not sure if the police were armed, but I saw a police dog. It's shocking."

Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "I heard lots of shots - three or four. Like a bonfire. I've never heard anything like it before. It was really scary.

"There were a lot of police with guns. It was very scary. The people who lived there moved in around a year ago - I thought the man was her son."

The couple were believed to know each other

Neil Basu, Specialist Crime and Operations officer with the Metropolitan Police, said: "Initial reports were that a man had broken into the house and officers were faced with a man threatening a woman with a knife.

"Police negotiators and the London Ambulance Service were call called to the scene. The man was shot by police and treated at the scene but pronounced dead en-route to hospital.

"The woman is unharmed but in shock. We believe the man and women were known to each other but we cannot confirm the nature of that relationship. The man is a 40-year-old black man who was born in Islington.

"In the last 24 hours we have seen a number of high-profile incidents. Those kind of incidents are very rare indeed and London continues to be a safe city."